I may have discovered the meaning Ephesians 6:4 is tonight. It’s the one that says, “Fathers, do not exasperate your sons…” Because at first glance you would think, ” What kind of dad would purposefully be mean to his kid? What a jerk.” Then tonight happened and I didn’t even realize it. Let me explain…

I’m a HUGE basketball fan and ESPN has an incredible lineup tonight of college games. Most importantly one that involved my beloved Duke Blue Devils and that other blue team from Kentucky who still holds a grudge because of a 15 foot turnaround jumper from 1992! Anyway, tonight is also the night that Amber has her women’s bible study so I have both boys all to myself. You can see my predicament already… A 1 and 3 year old require attention that should be directed solely to basketball!

So we start the evening getting kids fed and things are going well until my 1 year old decides he’s done eating. Now he can’t talk yet but he has no problem communicating what is on his mind. After letting me know he rubs his eyes and grabs his bottle, a sure sign he’s ready for a nap. But if he goes down now it’s only 6pm and he may wake up during halftime of my game not slated to start until 8:30! I’m sure my initial thought of panic that I may miss some of my game immediately turned into an evil grin as I thought, “or I keep him up until 8 even though he’s tired, give him a bottle then, and assure basketball peace for the evening!”

I’m pretty sure this is the meaning of exasperating your child in a way. I’m also sure I’m going to feel a little bit convicted for the choices I’ve made tonight… But I wont know that until tomorrow because tip off is about to happen in my quiet house. Happy basketball season!